February 1

I can't believe it has been since March that I updated this site.  I guess mentally I just couldn't post any updates for a while.  Up until four months ago, Meghan was doing great and getting stronger and stronger each day.  She was back in school full time and doing very well with her classes.  Four months ago she had scans and they unfortunately showed a new cancer spot on her spleen which is a recurrence of the Hodgkin's.  Luckily it was caught early.  The tumor in her chest is still in remission, which is good news.  Needless to say we were completely shocked and devastated by the news.  Meghan is back in treatment and now has a port.  She has had every kind of intravenous line possible that is used for treating cancer patients.  Out of all of them she dislikes the port the most and her favorite was the Hickman line.  The type of treatment she is receiving is immunotherapy and the drug she is receiving is called Opdivo (Novolumab).  Many of you may have seen this advertised on television.  She goes into clinic every two weeks for an infusion via the port and this will continue for a minimum of 6 months before they will know if it is working or not.  We are now at the 1/2 way point so only three more months.  The plus side to all of this is that the side affects are so much less, she will not loose her hair again, and can continue to go to school.  That being said, there are still side affects and the one she is struggling with the most is tiredness, which seems to be getting progressively worse with each treatment.  Due to the tiredness Meghan dropped two of her classes and now goes into school part time.  The start of the second 1/2 of the school year she will have a homeschool teacher for two classes and will go to school for two classes.

Please continue praying for Meghan.  She amazes us everyday with her perseverance and drive to succeed.  Now that the initial shock of the new diagnoses has worn off she is back to her old self.  She is counting down the days till she can get her drivers permit.  In addition, she is so excided to be getting a new puppy very soon!  She has so much to look forward to and we are so proud of her.

God Bless,

Michele